11-year-old boy gets wish to have leg amputated

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CALIFORNIA -- An 11-year-old boy in California has made a difficult decision to have his leg amputated.

Amit Vigoda has a rare disorder that causes his leg bones to fracture under the slightest stress.

"Like right now, my leg is broken," Amit says. He says it happened just from walking on it the wrong way.

His parents give him full support. And after a very long decision making process, Amit’s mother and father have agreed to make their son’s wish a reality.

"Sometimes he even has night terrors. He's on the maximum amount of Tylenol and Advil that he could be on for his age."

And that's why the boy wants part of his right leg amputated.

Having lived with this condition his entire life, Amit has had very limited mobility, since he cannot place much – if any – weight on his right leg.

To move around, he must use crutches or a wheelchair, and the pain from his fractures can be very intense at times.

So now, he is ready to move on without his leg.

"I've been through so much, and from my experience I know I'm not sure if it's gonna heal or not," Amit said. "But if I'm going to amputate it, I'm gonna have more of a chance of running and walking and playing contact games."

His parents do let Amit play wheelchair basketball, but Amit has the desire to run.

Amit is scheduled to undergo amputation surgery in early April at Shriner’s Hospital, and once his leg is removed, it will only be a few weeks before he is fitted with a prosthetic.

After that, he will undergo months of physical therapy, through which he will learn how to walk and run as if his leg had never been removed.

As for Amit, he is looking forward to being able to run, climb, hike, and most of all, play soccer like he's always wanted.

He hopes that his story will inspire others who are struggling with similar medical issues – helping them to understand that options do exist.